Hey Jealousy
by catsmeow79
Summary: To Caine, it feels like the initial blast from a plasma-ray; a large invisible wave of sound & fury so powerful that initially it overwhelms all of your senses. It's only once you have landed, when you have begun to regain your senses, that you feel the burning, the searing of the torn flesh where the weapon has laid you open.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note**: I wanted to explore a different dynamic between Jupiter and Caine, and it doesn't look like anyone's written jealousCaine or angry sex between the two yet, so I thought I'd give it a try. Please leave some feedback in the comment section.  
_  
_I'm setting this story in my own little JA universe, same as "Take Me to Church" and "Daring to Want", but the stories themselves are not related _

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Loud techno music pulses all around him, the reverberation of the bass practically shaking the floor beneath his feet while multi-colored strobe lights dance a-rhythmically across the walls. But Caine can hear nothing, he can **_see_** nothing else, only Jupiter. She is on the far side of the dance floor tucked into a semi-dark corner behind the furthest end of a long and crowded wooden bar. She is wearing a short black leather dress and tall, tall shoes. Caine has never seen her wear anything like it before, and she looks beautiful, every bit the queen she is as her hips sway in time to the thumping beat.

The man she is with must think so too, his hands never leaving her hips as they dance together, bodies moving in harmony as the music pulses and thrums. As Caine watches, the man leans forward, his lips moving against the side of Jupiter's face, speaking directly into her ear in an effort to be heard above the music. Try as he might, Caine's lupine ears can not filter out all the distracting background noise in order to pick up his words. It doesn't matter because Jupiter hears him, laughing aloud at his words, her eyes bright and happy. He presses a kiss to her cheek as he moves away, his arms lingering around her waist a moment longer than necessary Caine thinks. Then the man is at the bar, speaking with great animation to the person serving drinks behind the counter, as Jupiter continues to gyrate on the dance floor.

To Caine, it feels like the initial blast from a plasma-ray; a large invisible wave of sound and fury so powerful that initially it overwhelms all of your senses. At first you feel nothing at all, you can not see nor hear, and there is only a numbness at having been sent flying through the air at great speed. It's only once you have landed, when you have begun to regain your senses, that you feel the burning, the searing of the torn flesh where the weapon has laid you open.

Caine gasps for breath, willing himself to inhale calmly and slowly. He watches the slight man at the counter, his delicate hands passing cash to the bartender as he takes two glasses. The man is small; he is slender and insignificant, and the part of Caine that remembers the taste of Entitled blood running down his chin even if he can't remember _why_, knows that he could snap this man's neck with ease, imagines for a moment the satisfying crunch of bone beneath his hands.

Shocked at his own visceral and violent reaction, Caine staggers backward. He knows in his rational mind that he would never harm this man, he wouldn't do that to Jupiter, would never willingly cause her pain. Nevertheless, he finds the momentary impulse upsetting. He is used to having much better control over his baser instincts. This place smells like sweat and sexual arousal, tobacco and fermented plant products, and it is suddenly making him very nauseous, he needs to get out of here immediately.

Making his way swiftly to the closest exit, he finds himself dumped out into an alley beside one of the relatively quiet side-streets. The cool night air is blowing welcome across his face, but he is still too distracted to thoroughly check his surroundings for on-lookers before leaping into the air. His only thought right now is of distance, of escape, as he flies straight up toward the night sky. Caine doesn't see the busboy crouched beside the dumpster smoking a joint as he takes his mid-shift break in that very same alley. Fortunately for him, the busboy is incapable of remembering very much clearly the following morning.

Caine flies back to the church where he's set up his base of operations in the city. He slams his fist into the outer wall, cracking several bricks as he enters, thundering down the stairs. It was foolish to go looking for her, he _shouldn't_ have gone looking for her, it's only that Jupiter hadn't been where she was _supposed_ to be and he had gotten worried.

Balem was dead, of this they were certain. His remains had been recovered from the refinery some weeks after the explosion. Titus was currently in the midst of complex criminal proceedings resulting from Jupiter's kidnapping and subsequent attempted murder, and was under close scrutiny that would make him unavailable to cause trouble for the near future. Plus, the Aegis were maintaining a blockade above Earth, so things had been relatively quiet the past few months. Jupiter _should_ have been completely safe tonight without a bodyguard, but then she _should_ also have been tucked safely inside Katherine's million dollar condominium with it's state-of-the-art security system and patrolling night watchmen. When she hadn't been where he'd expected to find her, Caine had gotten concerned and tracked her across the city to a popular nightclub. _Stupid, stupid_, he thinks, slapping himself across the face several times in rapid succession, trying to distract himself, trying to replace the pain he could feel beginning in his chest with a sharper, more tangible one.

Caine was supposed to stay at Stinger's farmhouse tonight. There had been a Legion briefing over long-wave teleconference and it was expected to go into the wee hours, so he'd told Jupiter that he'd be gone all night. Since he would be out of town, she'd decided to sleep over at Katherine's and have a "girl's night".

"_You know - - a bottle of wine, a pint of ice cream, pajamas, rom-coms and boy talk_?" she'd replied when he'd lifted his brows in confusion.

He _didn't_ know in point of fact, and it didn't sound like fun to him, but he suspected that Jupiter didn't really enjoy munitions testing at Stinger's farm as much as she pretended to for his benefit, so he'd smiled politely and told her to have a good time. When the teleconference had needed to be rescheduled due to technical problems with an Admiral stationed on Certantia 9, Caine had flown home early.

Not wanting to interrupt "girl's night" he'd hovered outside Katherine's building doing a routine security sweep, intending to spend the night discreetly perched on the roof while they "rom-commed" without him. However, a quick scan of the apartment had revealed neither Jupiter nor Katherine were home. Caine had gone inside then, his instincts on high-alert. Nothing had been broken or appeared out of place, but he could smell an unfamiliar scent on the air and he was worried. He had tracked them to the club, and now he wished that he hadn't. He should have left it alone. There were some things it was better not to know.

Now that the initial numbness has worn off and he is starting to feel the pain, a sharp stabbing pressure has begun to establish itself in his chest. He has no right to be angry with her, no right to feel hurt, he knows this on an intellectual level. They have never discussed exclusivity, and even if they _had_, it would certainly not apply to her. As an Entitled, Jupiter has the right to demand that any partner be faithful exclusively to her (_per section IV-b6_), but she would still remain free to dally with whomever she wishes. The fact that she would share her bed with a Splice at all is more than he should have hoped for, the fact that she seems to genuinely care for him, more than he would have dared to dream only a few short months ago.

His knows that his jealousy is irrational, and he hates the feeling. Right now his emotions are control, running rough-shod over his logical, well-trained Legionnaire-side. This has happened once before, even if he can't remember the details, he knows that it's dangerous and he needs to get himself reigned back in quickly before something bad happens.

Before Caine has time to think any further, he hears the door squeak loudly from the church above. He hears the footsteps clicking sharply across the floor overtop his head . . . . Jupiter is **_here_.**

tbc

**Author's Note**: _Sorry for the super-short chapter guys. I wanted to get something posted before I chickened out of writing this altogether, I'm finding the tone impossibly hard to get just-right. Please leave a comment_. Cheers :-)


	2. Chapter 2

Jupiter navigates the entryway clumsily, cursing softly to herself as she stumbles for the hundredth time tonight. She's only a little bit tipsy, certainly not drunk, but it's a god damn miracle that she hasn't broken her ankle in Katherine's _ridiculously_ high heels. She really wants to take them off and pad barefoot down to Caine's bedroom and pass out on his bed, but there is at least a decade's worth of dirt and debris on the floor of the abandoned church beneath her feet, and she doesn't relish the thought of stepping on _any_ of it unprotected, so she grits her teeth and focuses on her balance.

Katherine and Spencer had been planning on stopping at _yet another_ club before heading home, but Jupiter had declined to join them. They'd stayed longer than planned already because Spence had been flirting shamelessly with the bartender, and now Jupiter was beyond worn out. She was all about being a good friend and trying to raise Spence's spirits after his break-up, but she'd started losing her enthusiasm for the hard-partying single-life shortly after 3am, and she'd insisted that they continue on without her.

Jupiter was never much for the club scene before anyway, but since Caine came along, staying-in had _**all sorts**_ of shiny new appeal. Rubbing her hand over tired eyes, she opens the basement door quickly. She's so exhausted that all she wants now is to curl up in Caine's bed surrounded by his familiar comforting scent and sleep until noon. Which is incidentally when she is expecting him to be back from Stinger's, so maybe he'll wake her up with lazy Sunday afternoon sex and perhaps even the blueberry pancakes that he's getting pretty good at making on his electric griddle in the basement.

It sounds pretty perfect, and smiling to herself at the warm and cozy thought, Jupiter makes her way carefully down the stairs. When she finally dares to look up from concentrating on her feet, she finds the subject of her recent fantasy standing right in front of her in all his glory.

"_Caine_!" she exclaims happily, surprised and delighted to see him.

His heart leaps at the obvious excitement in her voice, at the sparkle in her eyes, and it makes earlier events all the more painful because try as he might, he can not control his physical and emotional reaction to her, even when he wants to.

"_You're back early_" she says, still navigating the stairs carefully.

Caine notes that her words are just a little unfocused and her gait is awkward. It can't be easy to maneuver in the shoes she is wearing, but they do make her legs look even more sensational than usual and he feels lust begin to stir in his belly. He wants to kick himself for his weakness.

"_The conference was rescheduled_" he says shortly, his voice gruff as he tries too hard to sound normal and unaffected. He can smell the other man on her skin – his sweat, his saliva, the scent is unmistakable.

"_That's good_" Jupiter responds, her voice taking on a breathy quality which she uses only during private times between them "_Because I was just thinking of what I wanted to do the next time I saw you_"

Caine's heartbeat races at her words and their implication, a visceral physical response that his rational mind tries to restrain, but can't.

Jupiter walks over, her hips swaying sexily (_she hopes_) as a result of the heels, and wraps her arms around his neck. She finds that they are almost at eye-level now, and she likes the new perspective it gives her. Like this, she doesn't have to strain or reach for his lips, she can simply melt into them.

Before he can fully process her intention, Jupiter is pressing her lips to his mouth, kissing him soundly. Caine tries to remain motionless, tries to will himself some control, but then she bites softly on his lower lip and he can't help the strangled gasp that escapes.

Jupiter sighs into his mouth as she presses her body closer, finding Caine strangely still at first. It reminds her briefly of when they'd first started dating and he had been trying to figure out Earth customs, trying to figure _her_ out and he'd been worried about over-stepping or doing something wrong so he'd let her take the lead. It hadn't been that way for weeks now though, and this is a little strange. Her pleasantly buzzed mind might have dwelled on it further, but then Caine is gasping aloud at her playful nibble and she takes the opportunity the slip her tongue inside his mouth.

Caine can not help but respond, his tongue dancing with hers, tasting the flavor of that fermented potato beverage many on this planet use as a social lubricant. '_She did not go to bed with that other man'_ his heart tells him foolishly, 'she came home to _**you'**_. His hands slide down to grab her ass, squeezing it possessively, harder than he normally would, pulling her flush against his groin.

Jupiter moans loudly as he grinds her against him. God, he feels so good, and she is so wet for him already she realizes with a little surprise. It usually takes her longer to get warmed up, but her whole night has practically been foreplay to this point, now that she thinks about it – Katherine and Spencer both complaining about how all men are rubbish and how tough it is to be single. All that conversation had done was make her appreciate Caine even more, remind her of how lucky she is to have him in her life.

"_Take me to bed_" she rasps against his mouth, barely pulling away to speak before she is plunging her tongue back into the warm recess of his mouth. This is not a night for soft and slow, this is a night for hard and fast.

Caine can't help but growl deep in his chest, her words sending him further away from any rational thought. It would be smart to take a step back right now, to redefine the parameters of their professional and personal relationship before things get even more hopelessly muddled, but he can not bring himself to do it.

_What is the harm_? he finds himself thinking _What is the harm in having her one more time like this_? _One more time before she rips his heart out, asks him to share her affection with another_? _With __others_? The thought makes him ache with sadness. But he knows now that he will take whatever she wants to give him, because all of him belongs to her. Moving backward across the basement, he walks them to the nearest wall, using his body to push Jupiter's back gently against the textured concrete surface.

Jupiter rests her back against the wall as she pulls Caine closer, arching her body against his, enjoying the delightful contrast between the rough cool of the wall and the hard planes of his body wrapped in the soft warmth of his skin. She reaches for his waistband, wanting to feel him as soon as possible. She unbuttons his fly, pulling the zipper down carefully, reaching inside to stroke him swiftly.

"_Gahh_" he gasps as her fingers close around him. It feels like perfection and he almost can't take the strength of the sensation.

Jupiter looks up, trying to meet his eyes as she strokes his cock, but they dance away, slamming closed when she seeks the connection between them. She feels a flutter of sudden unease at the unusual occurrence.

"_Caine_?" she questions

She's only been touching him for a moment and his vision is already beginning to blur. Stricken, Caine realizes with acute embarrassment that this isn't the beginning of his climax, rather there are actual tears in his eyes. He doesn't think he has cried since he was a pup (_maybe not even then_) he can not recall. He knows that he did not cry when the Legion stripped his wings, and he never cried in the deadland. He closes his eyes when she seeks to meet his gaze, screwing them shut tightly after he turns his head away.

Caine hears her say his name, but he has no response to give her, no words to say in this moment. Instead, he reaches down to remove her hand from his dick, her touch feels too intimate. He guides her hand above her head, placing it against the wall above her instead. Then, he takes ahold of her other hand, the one which had been stroking the fine hairs at the base of his neck and moves it up against the wall as well, holding her two hands in place with his one.

Jupiter is quaking from the sensation already, Caine's body pushing her into the wall, his hand holding hers above her head, it feels a little dark and dangerous. Soon, one of his hands reaches down to her hip to spin her around so that she faces the wall with her entire body now. It's thrilling, being completely within his considerable power, not being able to see what he'll do next, only being able to feel.

Caine wants so desperately to be with her, needs her so badly that he can barely think straight. But he can't bear to look her in the eye right now, afraid she'll see how weak and needy he is, how fragile and pathetic. Jupiter doesn't resist when he turns her away, pressing her face into the wall, away from his failings. His feet move to stand between hers, nudging hers gently, until she widens her stance, allowing him to slip closer behind her.

Jupiter can feel the swell of Caine's erection as he presses the front of his body against the back of hers. It's amazing how life works out sometimes, she thinks hazily. She had only packed pajamas for the sleep over at Katherine's and thus had ended up wearing Katherine's dress and heels when they'd changed plans and gone out instead. The dress was way too short and way too tight, and the heels had been like skyscrapers. Jupiter had felt ridiculous in them, far too glamorous and not at all like herself. Now, it turned out that they were exactly perfect. The heels lined her up perfectly with Caine, and he needed only to slide the dress upward a few inches to reach her center.

Which he is doing now, Caine's hand sliding across her ass as he rucks the dress up to her hips before grabbing her panties and literally ripping them off rather than take the time to pull them down her legs. "_Oh my god_" she garbles with a sort of high pitched keening sound that probably would have embarrassed her under other circumstances.

Caine takes a long stuttering breath, trying to reign himself in, regain control, he's never heard her make that noise before and he's not sure at first that he hasn't been too rough.

"_Please don't stop_" Jupiter implores, thrusting her backside into his groin purposefully.

It takes only her words to jolt him into action again, he doesn't want to think anymore, he only wants to feel. He reaches down, taking himself in hand and positions himself at her entrance. Jupiter arches her hips backward, opening herself for him as he pushes inside, sheathing himself fully. Waiting just a moment, he draws out and then pushes back in again.

Jupiter's fingers scrabble for purchase against the wall as Caine's powerful thrusts send her upward, only his hands anchoring her at her waist prevent her from launching into the stratosphere. Actually, she's pretty sure that she's headed for the stratosphere right now and faster than ever before.

This has always been one of her favorite positions, but Caine has never taken her like this before, never from behind. He always wants to look deep in her eyes, like they're two parts of one soul merging, watch her face as she falls apart. She likes the way Caine makes love to her, slow and sweet and careful. She likes this a lot too, fast and not so careful. Basically, she likes anything that Caine does because she feels connected to him in a way she's never experienced before, and that connection seems to make it ridiculously easy for him to trip her trigger. She tilts her hips backward, angling her pelvis just a fraction more, and _**now**_ _oh dear god_! now his every thrust is hitting her sweet spot perfectly and she's practically gone already.

She has turned her head, angling it back toward him, searching for his lips, but the tears are flowing freely down his face now, and Caine merely pushes her head forward again, laying her forehead to rest gently against the wall and stroking up and down her neck with one hand while the other holds her waist in place as he snaps his hips into her.

Jupiter can feel the tension in his hand against her neck, some unconscious part of her processing the coolness underlying the gesture, but she's approaching her peak so quickly now that rational thought is all but impossible.

"_Harder_" she urges

He rushes to comply, moving both hands to her waist again, pushing her body toward the ground even as his hips thrust her toward the ceiling. His chin rests upon her shoulder as he gasps for air, spiraling faster upward.

Within seconds she is screaming her release, her inner muscles clenching mercilessly around him, pulling him along with her into the abyss. The tremors last far longer than they ever have before, for either of them, and the sound of his name on her lips as she explodes around him have left him weeping in earnest now. He closes his teeth around her shoulder, biting back the sob that wants desperately to escape. This can not be the last time he feels like this, feels this completeness after so long on his own.

When Jupiter comes back to herself she feels Caine's hands around her waist, supporting her weight, holding her up until her wobbling legs can regain their strength. He seems to sense exactly when that is because no sooner does she feel herself steady than he is releasing her and stepping away. And now she _knows_ something is wrong for certain because of all the tiny hints this one is a glaring traffic sign – Caine is no longer holding her close, stroking, nuzzling, licking and sucking as he always does after sex.

Caine tries desperately to pull himself together, zipping up his trousers and wiping the tears from his cheeks before Jupiter can turn around. Seeing her shoulders tense, he pulls his professional soldier façade across his features quickly when she turns toward him.

"_Are you okay_?" she asks, studying his face with concern

tbc

* * *

_So . . . that was my attempt at writing a different sexual dynamic between Jupiter and Caine while still keeping mostly in-character for both of them . . . any thoughts on my level of success?_

_Coming up next . . . well, obviously they need to talk this out_


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note**_: Hi everyone, thanks so much for reading and commenting, you rock! Seriously, when people don't review I cry buckets._

_Sorry it took so long to get this next update posted, it was a rough week at work_ :-(

_As it turns out, I could go on __**literally**__ forever exploring the emotional dynamics between these two flawed and damaged characters. There is SO much they need to talk about. _

_In an effort to prevent readers from stabbing their eyes out with boredom over the endless talking, I've decided to break the final chapter into two parts. Here's the first. Cheers!_

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"_Are you okay_?" she asks, studying his face with concern

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The question is still hanging in the air between them and Caine realizes that the moment has stretched far too long already without an answer from him. It's only that he's never lied to her before and he does not wish to begin now. _How does he answer the question at all_? No, he is not okay, _**this**_ is what he had feared all the way back on Aurus when Jupiter had first invited him to bite her.

Stinger had been right, Caine was far more afraid of having found the one thing he'd spent his entire life looking for than he was of continuing to live without it. _**This**_ was why - - because the pain of learning to live in the dark again would be far greater now that he knew the warmth of the light. But he knows that he can not say these things out loud, he does not want to see pain or pity in her eyes.

"_I'm tired_" he says finally. The statement is true, but it sounds hollow and false even to his own ears.

It has taken Jupiter several months and lots of patience (_he isn't exactly forthcoming_), but she has gotten pretty skilled at reading Caine by this point. She can clearly see that he is not okay right now, but she knows him well enough not to push.

Jupiter has learned that Caine has trouble with his feelings, that he's not used to them mattering to anyone, even himself. She isn't certain whether it's a soldier-thing or a splice-thing, _perhaps it's both_? Part of her wonders if he'd been trained not only not to _express_ his feelings, but perhaps not to _have_ them at all? It makes her simultaneously outraged and heart-sick on his behalf. She doesn't comprehend how a race of people that is SO advanced in so many ways can still be so hopelessly barbaric in others.

Jupiter has seen that Caine has a tendency to shut-down emotionally whenever he feels something that he isn't used to feeling, or doesn't know how to process. He'd done in on the commonwealth when she'd pressed him about their connection, he'd shoved her away and bottled it up. So instead of pushing any further, she walks over and squeezes his hand, kissing his cheek lightly in what she intends to be a supportive gesture.

"_I'm here if you want to talk about it_" she offers, her fingers absent-mindedly wiping salty-moisture from her lips.

She sounds so sympathetic, so genuinely concerned about his well-being that Caine finds himself almost wanting to tell her. She's become his friend, his confidante, he's shared things with her that no one else knows about him. During their time together, he's told her about missions for the Legion, fellow soldiers lost in battle, people he'd killed, wars he'd fought, always wars belonging to others, he was only a tool after all. He'd told her about his childhood, his physical and emotional isolation from the other pups because of his defects, the rigorous pre-military training his Splicer had insisted upon, the hazing by fellow soldiers once he'd been sold to the Legion, his status as an outsider even within his own unit. Her touch is so light, so easy that he never feels pressured or criticized, and he'd nearly stopped fearing that she would shrink away from him in fear or disgust altogether.

Before he can speak, his Legion training kicks-in and squashes the irrational emotional impulse to share everything with her. '_There is nothing to tell_' he repeats inside his own head. Jupiter is an Entitled and he is a splice, he is lucky to receive any gifts she bestows. She is not a lycantant, she can not understand the strength and depth of his instinct to pair-bond, nor can she reciprocate the feelings behind it. He is reckless and foolish to hope for more, to desire or want anything beyond what she has already given him.

"_Thank you_" he whispers, backing away, pulling his hand from her grasp, the physical contact too painful right now when all he wants is to cuddle her even closer. He should never have dared to imagine more between them.

Jupiter frowns as Caine pulls his hand away from hers, noticing a black ink smudge that now covers her fingertips where her hand had touched his. Looking over at the top of his hand for the first time, she can now clearly see the dragon-shaped admission stamp, slightly smeared, from the club she'd visited earlier that night. Now, concern begins to morph into real worry as she tries to solve the puzzle, her brain still a little fuzzy from the alcohol and the intense orgasm.

"_Caine, why do you have a door-stamp from Archipelago_?" she asks, pointing to his hand

At her gesture Caine looks down, having forgotten all about the infernal human marking-device the bouncer had saddled him with earlier. "_I was concerned when I did not find you at Katherine's upon my return_" he explains, trying his best to sound impassive, as if he is merely dictating a situation report to a commanding officer "_I tracked your movements to Club Archipelago where I found you to be in no danger_" he finishes, feeling very proud of himself for his accurate and emotionally detached choice of words.

Jupiter frowns again, small lines creasing her forehead "_Why didn't you come over and say hi_?" she asks, shaking her head. Caine has actually met Katherine already, so there shouldn't have been any anxiety there "_Why didn't you come tell me you were back in Chicago_?"

Caine swallows, trying to maintain his steady speaking voice. He has no right to be hurt, and no right to burden Jupiter with his own failings, they are not her fault. "_You were occupied, I did not wish to interrupt_" he states matter-of-factly

The tone of his voice reminds Jupiter of the way he'd spoken to her on the commonwealth, when he'd said he was helping her in order to facilitate his pardon. Caine hadn't technically been lying then, but there had been much more to the truth than he was telling her. She hasn't heard that tone from him in weeks now, hasn't seen that cool detachment in his eyes in longer and it causes a chill to crawl up her spine.

Suddenly, Jupiter remembers Spencer begging her to dance earlier, shortly after he'd downed three tequila shots in rapid succession. Of course she'd refused, she could hardly _walk_ much less dance in Katherine's stilettos. But in his drunken state Spencer had persisted, promising "_I'll_ _keep you from falling on your ass_". He had kept his word too, his hands never leaving her waist as he'd practically propped her upright for the entire fifteen minutes they'd been on the dance floor.

Jupiter wonders if Caine could possibly have lousy enough timing to have arrived during the tiny fifteen-minute window during their four-hour-long bender that _didn't_ involve Spencer crying brokenly about how no one would ever love him again and blowing his nose unattractively on cocktail napkins while Katherine and Jupiter tried to give him the "plenty of fish in the sea" speech.

Jupiter wants to insist that surely Spencer practically holding her upright on the dance floor can _not_ have looked at all romantic or sexy, but then she reminds herself that she and Caine are **literally** from different planets and he has never once touched her without encouragement. Spence's easy tactile affection might have seemed far more intimate to Caine's eyes than it would have to any earth-borne human person.

Caine takes her silence as a dismissal and begins to head toward the bathroom. He only needs a few minutes of privacy to compose himself, to splash cold water on his face and wash away any remnants of the tears he'd shed. Then, everything will be under control again.

Jupiter realizes she's been standing there stupidly silent for several minutes as she processes all her thoughts through vodka-soaked quicksand, when she notices that Caine has begun to edge further away from her. Before he can escape, she cuts him off by asking a direct question, one he can't answer using a polite half-truth.

"_Exactly _**_how_**_ was I occupied_?" she inquires, holding her breath involuntarily as she awaits his response, because her luck can not be _**that**_ bad.

"_You were dancing_" he answers, voice carefully neutral "_You appeared to be having a good time_"

Goddamnit, **of course** her luck is that bad! And now she feels like complete and utter crap because she can clearly see how things must have looked to Caine. From his perspective, she'd lied about where she was spending the night and then gone on a date with another man – she had betrayed him, and he was standing here trying to be all stoic and soldier-y about it, letting her off the hook. Her heart can't help but fill simultaneously with both warmth (_because he tries so hard to avoid causing her discomfort_) and sorrow (_because he doesn't think he has a right to possess feelings of his own_).

Jupiter's first instinct is to make this better for him, to clear up the misunderstanding between them "_I can explain_" she whispers, taking a slow step forward "_Caine, it isn't what you think_"

"_Your Majesty does not owe me an explanation_" Caine responds automatically, years of conditioning at work. He finds though, that he has to force his eyes to remain fixed neutrally on the ground when they want to rise to hers like an eager puppy dog, grasping with foolish hope at her promise.

His words hit her like a bucket of ice water, and Jupiter finds herself abruptly and suddenly stone-cold sober. The pleasant post-sex, post-vodka buzz is entirely gone from her system now as she realizes just how serious this is. She also finds her sympathy and remorse quickly being replaced with outrage. Caine has never said 'your majesty' in that _way_ to her before; without any inflection, any meaning, and it cuts her so deeply that for a moment that she can not feel it at all. Then, she is abruptly angry because he has taken something sweet and precious and secret between them and turned it cold and impersonal. She has to exert extreme focus not to visibly wince.

"_Don't do that_" she commands, and her voice is steely with barely contained fury.

Caine can not help but flinch at her tone, because he's never heard her voice sound like that before. His eyes rise to gauge hers and he sees a swirling tempest of anger and hurt swimming in her chocolate depths, and he doesn't understand what he's done to cause it.

Jupiter's thoughts and emotions are whirling like a torrent inside of her and she struggles to get a-hold of her Bolotnikov temper, to marshal her thoughts into words that will express without injuring. It's not _only_ the way he said 'your majesty' that's set her off she realizes, it's also her baggage from previous relationships bubbling to the surface unbidden. She's dated controlling assholes who wanted to know where she was at any given moment of the day and followed her around in order to check-up on her, and she's dated passive-aggressive douche-bags who expected her to jump through hoops to figure out what they were thinking or feeling instead of simply telling her. Right now, Caine is reminding her of both simultaneously, and she finds the realization truly frightening.

Caine can smell her sudden spike in adrenaline, hear her heartbeat speeding in her chest. Her breathing is ragged as she sucks in air carefully, like she's just been punched in the stomach. She closes her eyes, almost as if she's trying to get a handle on something. He's now certain that he's made Jupiter really angry, but he can't comprehend why.

Before Jupiter can speak at all, her phone rings loudly, cutting through the thick uncomfortable silence of the room. She jolts at the sound, turning quickly to search for her purse frantically. It's nearly 4:30 in the morning and her first thought is that her mother or Aunt Nino are in the hospital.

"_Hello_?" she answers a little breathlessly when she finally locates her purse where she'd dropped it on the floor by the stairs.

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tbc

**Author's Note**: _Sorry for the cliff-hanger, I couldn't find a good place to break. I hope to have the rest finished later today. It's rainy and miserable out, the perfect day to escape reality and disappear into writing. Please leave a comment, even if it's just to say "what, that's it_?!"


	4. Chapter 4

_**Author's Note**: Thank you all SO much for the comments on chapter 3, they really inspired me to knuckle-down and get this thing __(almost) __finished - food? sleep? what are those?_

_It turns out, I was not exaggerating in the slightest when I said I could explore Caine/Jupiter dynamics __**forever**__, I've got tons to say on the subject. As a result, there is going to be one more additional chapter after this one. _

_Please forgive me my endless yammering._

* * *

"_Jupiter_!" Katherine sobs on the other end "_They said they're going to call the police_" she wails

Caine watches as concern registers across Jupiter's face, her hand coming up to cover her mouth. He can hear Katherine's voice speaking very quickly on the other end of the line, but she's practically hysterical and he can't make out many of the words.

"_Everything is going to be okay_" Jupiter is promising in response to whatever Katherine has just said, her tone soothing "_I'm coming over right now_"

Jupiter looks up at him as she disconnects the call. "_Caine I'm sorry_, _I need to go"_ she says, shaking her head in frustration_ "Katherine really needs my help right now_"

Caine lets out a slow breath of relief because her voice is softer again and the storm that was raging behind her eyes seems to have calmed somewhat. "_Of course_" he responds, truthfully a bit relieved to postpone the inevitable pain for a little while longer. Grabbing his jacket, he heads for the stairs beside her.

"_You don't have to come with me_" she protests when he starts to follow her. Honestly, some space might give her time enough to calm down so they can have a rational discussion like adults about the night's events.

"_It's the middle of the night in one of the most dangerous cities on your planet?_" he reminds her firmly "_I'm your security liason, I __do__ have to come_"

As he moves to follow her, the overhead fluorescent light shines down brightly on Caine for a second and Jupiter thinks she can see the remains of tear-tracks on his face. Abruptly, she remembers the salty moisture she'd felt on her lips earlier, after she'd kissed his cheek. Before she can process it intellectually, all the righteous anger is seeping from her body, replaced with sympathy and sadness . . . and love.

God, she's really in love with him she thinks, and this is the first time she's admitted it to herself. Just a minute ago she was furious with Caine. Now, in a flash of comprehension, all of that anger is gone. He followed her because it's his job to know where she is at all times so he can protect her from harm. He didn't tell her what he was thinking or feeling because he hasn't quite gotten used to those things _mattering_ to another person yet. Caine is unlike anyone she has ever known before. He is special in a way that makes her want to put down her own emotional baggage so she can help him carry his.

Ten minutes later, their cab is pulling to a stop in front of _Hard Ink_.

"_Wait for us_" Jupiter orders the driver, leaping out and dashing inside with Caine close on her heels.

Upon entry, Caine performs a security sweep. He can visualize only Katherine and the man from earlier in the main body of the tattoo parlor, the latter collapsed on the floor while Katherine sits beside him in a chair. Focusing intently, Caine turns his ears toward the back of the store. He can hear the heartbeats of two additional persons coming from beyond the hanging beaded curtain labeled "employees only". They are murmuring to each other in irritated tones. Gauging the lack of foot traffic on the sidewalk outside and minimal threat, Caine elects to position himself to the rear of the store, just in front of the beaded curtain.

"_Oh Jupe, thank you so much for coming_" Katherine is gushing, hugging Jupiter close as she rises "_He won't listen to me_"

Jupiter slides carefully down onto the floor to sit beside Spencer, his eyes glassy and unfocused as they regard her.

"_David doesn't love me anymore_" he confesses piteously "_He met someone else and it's over_"

"_I know, honey_" she coos sympathetically, slinging one arm around his shoulder. This is probably only the hundredth time she's heard this tonight.

"_Just like that, two years and it's just over_" he cries, leaning his head heavy against her arm.

"_I'm so sorry_" she murmurs, stroking his hair

"_I wanted to get a tattoo, a starfish 'cause of that trip we took to the Bahamas last year . . . we were so happy_" he tells her, a soppy smile on his face for a moment "_They won't do it because they think I'm too drunk_" he stage-whispers loudly, his face going dark and angry as he glowers in the direction the employees had disappeared beyond the curtain.

"_Sweetie, I think we should take you home now_" Jupiter coaxes, running her hand soothingly up and down his back

Caine hears movement beyond the curtain, footsteps coming in his direction. Deftly, he steps to the side in order to avoid being in their direct path. A moment later, a large man barrels through the curtain, irritation practically radiating from him.

Katherine hurries over to intercept the man before he can reach Spencer and Jupiter. "_We just need another minute Mac_" she promises "_We're getting ready to leave right now_"

"_You said __that__ twenty minutes ago_" he informs her angrily

Before Katherine can respond, Caine has stepped forward and placed himself bodily between the man and her. His chest rumbles with a low growl for a moment before he speaks "_They . . . need . . . another . . . minute_" Caine repeats quietly.

Mac opens his mouth to speak, looks Caine up and down slowly, and then abruptly snaps his mouth shut. With an angry glare, he stalks back through the curtain.

"_I want a starfish_" Spencer insists, sounding like a petulant five year old

"_Tomorrow_" Jupiter whispers "_If you still want the starfish, I will come back with you tomorrow_" she promises

"_Now_!" he insists, his voice raising

"_Spence please_" she implores, raising her index finger to his lips to shush him "_They're going to call the police if we can't get you to leave quietly_" she explains "_Please let me take you home_"

"_I don't have a home, it's broken_" he informs her loudly, emphasizing the word home

"_Okay, okay, not home, we'll go to to Katherine's_?" Jupiter suggests

"_Okay_" he finally sighs after much face-scrunching concentration.

"_Thank you_" Katherine mouths over his shoulder, Jupiter only winks in response.

Jupiter rises to her feet, holding her hand out for Spencer as Katherine comes around to support his other side. Together, they try to pull him to his feet, but he sinks quickly, pulling them both down along side him.

Jupiter can't help but laugh as she rises to her feet. "_Spence, you're gonna have to help us a little_" she huffs, grabbing him under the arm and trying again to heft.

Caine watches them struggle for only a moment before he decides to intervene. "_Here_" he says, coming over to hoist Spence off the ground and atop his shoulder in one fluid movement as if he weighs nothing.

"_Damn_" Katherine mutters under her breath, glancing appreciatively at Caine's flexing biceps as they follow him toward the waiting cab.

Jupiter slides in first, squishing against the far window "_watch his head_" she cautions as Caine maneuvers Spence onto the seat beside her. Her heart fills with warmth at the gentleness with which he cradles Spence's head as he scoots him across the seat so that he's passed out against Jupiter. Then, Caine and Katherine squeeze in beside them. It's a little cramped, but they make it work.

"_I'm drooling on you_" Spence murmurs sleepily as they pull up to the condo twenty minutes later.

"_I know_" Jupiter responds, rubbing her shoulder with her hand in mild irritation "_It's not the first time tonight, either_"

"_I'm sorry_!" Katherine mouths

Jupiter simply rolls her eyes.

A few minutes later, Caine is depositing Spence bodily onto the bed in Katherine's guest room. No sooner has he deposited his burden then he is turning abruptly, and heading back to the entry way to begin a security sweep.

"_I'm going to get him some water and aspirin_" Katherine says, heading off toward the kitchen.

"_It hurts so much_" Spencer whines as Jupiter unties his shoes

"_I know_" she murmurs, pulling his shoes off one at a time "_but it won't feel this bad forever"_

"_Why doesn't David love me anymore_?" he asks, all pathetic and high-pitched neediness

"_Because he's an idiot_" she answers, tossing his shoes across the room where they land with a satisfying thump.

"_You are smart and funny and kind and rich and good-looking_" she begins, struggling to pull the blankets out from underneath his prone body "_and David is an idiot_" she grunts, finally pulling the duvet free.

"_Yeah, but he was __my__ idiot_" he argues, flopping like a fish as Jupiter tries to tuck him under the covers.

"_You can sit down if you want_" Katherine offers when she comes out of the kitchen and notices Caine standing awkwardly at attention in the living room.

"_No thank you_" he replies

"_Can I get you a drink_?" she asks

"_No, I'm fine_" he answers

"_Thank you for your help with Spence_" she says, nodding in the direction of the guest bedroom "_I couldn't have managed him on my own_"

Caine nods "_Of course_"

"_She's got a special way about her_" Katherine confesses, perhaps a little wistful "_He's __my__ brother, but she's just got this nurturing side that he really responds to. She's good at taking care of people_"

Caine knows, he remembers the drive to Stinger's place, how concerned and attentive Jupiter had been when she'd realized that he was bleeding, how carefully she'd tended his wound, and he was only a stranger to her then.

"… _she always knows just the right thing to say_" Katherine finishes

Caine knows that already too. Even if he couldn't hear the conversation taking place down the hall (_which he can_), he would know it from his own experience. Jupiter has always had a way of making him believe that the universe is a better place than it actually is, that everything will somehow work out.

Sighing, he watches Katherine head toward the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. It's painfully obvious to Caine now that he had misunderstood the closeness he'd witnessed earlier at the club, that he'd reached the wrong conclusion about Jupiter and Spencer's relationship.

He is so relieved at the realization that it's almost as though an enormous weight has been physically lifted from his chest, a feeling of peace washing over him that allows him to fully expand his ribcage again, to breathe without discomfort. And while this sensation itself is pleasant, it only serves to remind him of the depth and severity of the pain he'd felt earlier. It reminds him of how hopelessly entangled he's allowed himself to become with Jupiter, how desperately he craves her proximity, her affection. He knows now how badly it will hurt when she no longer gifts them to him.

"_Do you think he'll change his mind_?" Spencer asks, yawning

"_I don't know_" Jupiter answers honestly, reaching to push a pillow beneath his head to prop him upright in case he gets sick in the middle of the night

As he waits in the living room, resisting the urge to pace, Caine can't help but remember the sudden flash of anger in Jupiter's eyes, before the phone call. He thinks now that he understands it's origin. Concentrating on everything he knows about courtship rituals on Earth, about their antiquated dating customs, it occurs to him that he may have inadvertently insulted her integrity. It is merely a difference between their cultures, as she was under no obligation of fidelity to him, but he must remember to apologize none-the-less since she was clearly affronted.

"_Your boyfriend is really strong_" Spencer observes, giggling to himself as he remembers the feeling of being carried through the air.

"_I know he is_" Jupiter answers absent-mindedly, trying to decide if she should attempt to take off any of his clothing since he might get hot before morning "_In more ways than one_".

When she thinks of everything Caine has been through in his life, everything he has had to endure, it seems remarkable to her that he's still such a kind and giving person.

"_I can see why you love him so much_" Spencer sighs, his voice a little dreamy as he stars to drift off "_Not many guys would ride across town in the middle of the night to help out a complete stranger_"

Jupiter laughs out loud at that, because this is hardly the most impressive thing that Caine has ever done for her "_You don't know the half of it_"

"_Stay until I fall asleep_?" Spencer implores

"_Of course_" she answers easily, kissing his forehead gently before settling beside him on the bed.

Before Katherine has even returned with the water and the aspirin, Spencer is snoring softly.

"_Are you sure you don't just want to sleep here tonight_?" Katherine asks for the second time as they head for the door twenty minutes later "_It's awfully late_"

"_No thanks_" Jupiter says, giving Katherine a peck on the cheek as she heads out into the hallway. She's already feeling more like herself again after changing back into her very own clothes and sneakers. Now, she really just wants to go home and sleep for a week in her own damn bed.

Waiting for the elevator to arrive, Jupiter thinks about the night's events and the rollercoaster of emotions she's been on during a few short hours. To her right, Caine's eyes scan the hallway, ever alert, ever watchful for danger. She can tell by the way his ears twitch that he is listening for it as well. She smiles slightly to herself because she enjoys being one of the few people able to read him, likes that she can tell he's mapping possible escape routes as his eyes scan their surroundings.

_Why hadn't she seen this coming_? Caine was jealous tonight, he was hurt, and it was all her fault because she'd been careless and stupid. In retrospect, it makes logical sense, she supposes. Convincing Caine that it was okay to be with her even though all his societal training told him that an entitled and a splice is forbidden hadn't been the last hurdle, it was only the first.

Here she'd foolishly thought they were on the same page, slowly getting to know each other, building a foundation, and he had merely been waiting for her to prove society right, for her to leave him because he wasn't good enough, and tonight she'd given him cause to think that she had. She'd accidentally confirmed his in-bred belief that she couldn't love him/would stay with him.

As they ride down to the lobby in silence, Jupiter decides that perhaps she's spent too much time trying to unravel the mystery that is Caine Wise, and not enough time sharing **Jupiter Jones** with him. It had been a somewhat conscious decision on her part, at least initially. He is so quiet and she is so loud, she'd purposefully tried to tone down her constant babbling in an effort not to drive him too crazy.

It was also a challenge, to get him to share pieces of himself with her, to carefully wheedle precious bits of information out of him. Now, she wonders if he truly doesn't know the depth of her feelings for him. _Maybe she should have just said it outright and explicitly_? It's just, she hadn't wanted to frighten him. Caine had been so hesitant at first, whereas she had never been as sure of anything in her life as she was her feelings for him, right from the beginning.

When they reach the lobby, Caine exits the elevator first, looking both ways cautiously before Jupiter steps out.

"_Shall I get you a cab_?" the doorman asks as he rises from his chair

"_It's okay_" Jupiter replies, waving for him to sit back down "_We're good_"

When they step out into the crisp early morning air, Jupiter feels calmer and more at peace than she has all night. She knows what she needs to say now, knows that she can fix this. Feeling more comfortable in her sneakers again, she decides she wants to walk back to the church. Normally, it wouldn't be a very safe idea but with Caine at her side, muggers beware.

"_Let's walk_" she suggests, nodding toward the sidewalk

Silently, Caine falls in step beside her, brooding. He can see now that he's handled the whole night badly, right from the start. He'd forgotten Legion rules of first-contact - - assimilate into the existing culture. He'd been so caught-up in his own reckless emotions, that he hadn't really been considering Jupiter in the context of her own world, only his own selfish needs and desires.

The realization bothers him more than he wants it to, as does his lingering concern that he's made her very angry with him. _What if his behavior has caused her to question their involvement_? All this time, she's been the one insisting that their differences aren't important. _What if he's just accidentally convinced her that those differences are a 'deal-breaker'_? _What if it's just too difficult for her to be with him anymore_?

.

.

.

tbc

* * *

**Author's Note**: _I really struggled with this section. I realize it can be kinda dicey throwing in a new character. I felt like my first draft of the conversation between Caine and Jupiter was SO long and SO dry and there wasn't much movement, so I threw the Spencer/Katherine stuff in for a little variety and to reveal a bit about Caine and Jupiter without as much boring back and forth between them._

_Any thoughts? Did my ploy pay off, or do you think it dragged the reader too far out of the main storyline_? _I'd love to know what you thought, please leave me some feedback_ :-)

_Coming soon . . . Caine &amp; Jupiter finally talk it out . . . and a happy ending!_


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note**: _Hi everyone, thanks so much for reading and leaving such excellent and insightful feedback. This was definitely one of my most rewarding writing experiences to date!_

_As promised, here is the final installment of my little story. I got a little long-winded I'm afraid, but I just felt like there was SO much they needed to address._

_Please let me know what you think of the finished product _ :-)

* * *

They've been walking in silence for several blocks when Jupiter angles over toward the waterfront. Resting her hands against the short stone wall that separates the path from the lake, she looks out over the water. On the far horizon she can just barely see the first splashes of color begin to dance across the water's surface as the sun rises in the distance.

There's so much they need to talk about, so much to sort out, that it's hard to know where to begin. Their professional relationship is simpler, so she decides to start there. "_Caine, I'm sorry_" Jupiter begins, turning to lean her back against the stone fence now so she can face him as he stands beside her.

Caine doesn't know what he was expecting her to say, but this wasn't it. This feels all wrong, why _is she apologizing to him_? He opens his mouth to protest, but she continues before he can find his voice.

"_I'm sorry that I didn't tell you when we decided to go out instead of saying in" _she clarifies, looking him directly in the eye_ "Spencer wanted to take his mind off his broken heart with drinking and obscenely loud music_" she continues, rubbing the back of her neck as she speaks.

Caine holds her gaze, listening carefully, unsure of why she is explaining her actions to him.

"_I forgot that I wasn't normal anymore" _Jupiter confesses a little wistfully, her hands fiddling unconsciously with the fabric of her shirt as she speaks _"I wasn't thinking like an inter-galactic space queen who recently dodged multiple assassination attempts and I'm sorry, it was careless and stupid of me_"

"_It's okay_" he assures her sincerely.

Her obvious sadness tugs at his heart, and Caine wishes that he could give the normalcy she craves back to her, but it isn't within his power. He's still confused by her apology though, she's free to come and go as she pleases any time she likes, it's his job as her security liason to follow after her. She's royalty now, she doesn't owe _anyone_ an explanation of her actions, least of all him.

"_But the thing is_ . . ." Jupiter continues a little more sternly this time, her eyes catching his again and holding them "_Here on Earth, a guy who follows his girlfriend around when she's out with her friends and spies on them is considered SUPER creepy_"

Caine can see a shadow pass across Jupiter's face, like she isn't standing beside him anymore, like she's somewhere else for a minute and he has a strong urge to reach out and pull her back, worried she's going somewhere unsafe. It's only a second and then it passes.

"_I won't go through that again_" she says quietly "_I'm cutting you a whole lot of slack on that front because you're also my security liason, and he _**_should_**_ know where I am at all times, for safety reasons. And also, because they do things differently in your part of the universe._"

_Is this why she is angry at him_? Caine muses, as he begins to comprehend what she is saying. This is similar to her reaction when he'd dressed her after the incident at the clinic - - she had been annoyed with him then, as if he had overstepped in some way. Later, he had discovered it was a matter of privacy, a concept which earth dwellers seemed to value a great deal. He had been successful at not breaching that boundary again until now.

"_I should not have tracked you without your permission_?" he asks cautiously, seeking confirmation.

Jupiter nods the affirmative "_Right_. _I need my own space Caine, it's something grown-ups on this planet are used to having, and I don't want to give that up just because I happen to be reincarnated space royalty now_"

"_How will I keep you safe_?" he wonders aloud, forehead crinkling in worry. Surely she does not intend to wander around unprotected?

_"Let's think of my safety as a partnership between then two of us_" she suggests, the corners of her mouth quirking upward a little at his genuine look of consternation "_It's your job to protect me, and it's _**_my_**_ job not to do anything super reckless or to place myself in any unnecessary danger_"

"_Okay_ . . ." he hesitates. This is not the way in which any Legion protective detail that he's ever been a part of has been conducted. Typically, the guard-er has all of the responsibility and the guard-ee none at all.

_"Let's make a deal" _she offers, watching his wheels turn_ "Whenever we aren't together, I will promise to tell you exactly where I'll be_" she explains "_And you will promise to check-up on me _**_only_**_ if you receive a reasonable threat or cause for concern_"

Caine's heart swells with hope at her implication that they will still be spending time together. Her compromise seems reasonable, at least while the Aegis are preventing anyone from entering the Earth without her express written permission. They may need to reevaluate if or when the Aegis withdraws from orbit. As he considers her proposal, he notices a strange humming in his blood - he likes the idea of Jupiter making him a promise, it feels . . . nice.

"_I accept your terms_" he answers after a few moments of deliberation

Jupiter's quirk is a full-blown smile now as she offers him her hand to shake. He takes it without hesitation, and pleasant little tingles dance up the length of her arm at his touch.

Satisfied with his response, her eyes leave his. Sighing, she turns back toward the water. That was the easy part, the rest will be more difficult. The sky is a little lighter now and Jupiter can't remember the last time she was awake before sunrise on a day that she didn't have work, on a day when she could simply enjoy the beauty of nature. On any other day, watching the sunrise over the water with Caine would be romantic as hell. Today, she can't help but feel a little anxious.

Caine watches her as she looks out across the water, her face still bathed mostly in the night's shadow even as the sky lightens in the distance. She's so lovely, so kind and generous, and he has to remind himself (_as he often does_) not to openly gawk at her. He wants to wrap himself around her, nuzzle her neck, hold her close, but he thinks he may no longer be allowed, so he resists the impulse.

Jupiter takes a deep breath and then speaks "_Caine_, _I want you to know that Katherine and Spencer are both like family to me"_ she begins, twirling her finger through a stray lock of hair that has come loose from its tie_ "Completely _**_platonic_**_ family, and I would never_ . . ."

This time, Caine _does_ interrupt her, he feels compelled to do so. He can't remember a time before Jupiter when _anyone_ had taken his feelings into account, when anyone ever thought that he was _owed_ an explanation. It feels strange and unfamiliar. She's trying to offer him another apology, and he just can't let her, not when he was so wrong about what he'd witnessed.

"_The mistake was mine_" he begins, rushing to explain "_I witnessed you dancing and then I smelled his saliva and his sweat on your skin and I thought_ . . ." he breaks off abruptly when he sees the expression on Jupiter's face – surprise, confusion, disgust? His explanation does not appear to be fixing anything, only making it worse.

"_Oh wow_" she manages, pushing herself away from the stone fence, walking a few paces toward the trees.

Jupiter feels a little gob-smacked and she can't quite believe that she still has the energy to _be_ surprised at this point in the evening (_morning_). _Jeez, Caine could smell Spence's saliva on her_? That's kind of disgusting. But, wow, it definitely explains why he was so shut-down back at the church because that is some pretty damning evidence, way better than a little awkward club dancing. _Shit_! Sometimes she forgets just how powerful his heightened senses are.

When Jupiter finishes pacing and turns around, she practically runs face-first into Caine. He has followed her across the path and he looks a little frantic, like he thinks she might be leaving rather than simply gathering her thoughts, and he's still talking.

_"I misunderstood the closeness between you_" he explains "_I was wrong"_

Jupiter can see his fingers flexing at his side, as if they _want_ to reach out to her, but he imagines that she would not welcome his touch.

"_Please forgive me_" he implores, his eyes shining into hers.

Jupiter swallows at the lump she can feel forming in her throat, because he's looking at her like he thinks the answer might actually be 'no'. She can not even comprehend living in a world where such an innocuous transgression would be punished so harshly, but she knows that Caine already has. She finds the sudden urge to wrap him in her arms and protect him from the universe almost overwhelming.

"_Of course!_" she answers immediately, reaching out to take his hand in hers "_That's not what . . . it isn't even . . . it was an innocent mistake, _**_of course_**_ I forgive you_"

Caine feels the knot in his belly begin to loosen at her words, at the certainty glittering in her eyes as she spoke them. She is always so confident, so sure, and she knows just what to say to unwind him. Jupiter's hand squeezes his, pulling him along beside her as she heads back toward the stone border that separates the jogging path from the lake.

As they walk back, Jupiter notices the toll that Katherine's stilettos had taken on her feet for the first time, _this_ is why she rarely wears heels. Even in her own sneakers now, she can feel the painful beginning of blisters burning across her heels. Leaning her back against the stone fence again, she slides herself upward this time, scooting into a sitting position atop the partition.

Letting her legs dangle loosely, she relishes the feeling of getting her weight off of her aching feet for a few minutes. Jupiter takes a deep calming breath, reminding herself to go slow, to think carefully before she speaks, and not to push Caine too hard or too fast.

"_Come here_" she encourages, nodding her head in Caine's direction.

From her perch atop the wall, she's at eye level with Caine again, which is nice. Jupiter likes not having to crane her neck up at him all the time. As he approaches, she spreads her knees inviting him to stand between them. His hands come to rest hesitantly on the stone to either side of her waist, like he's still uncertain whether he should touch her or not. She wants to reassure him, so she rubs her hands gently up and down his forearms for a few moments.

"_I can totally see why you thought what you thought." _Jupiter begins_ "That isn't why I was so upset_" she says, her arms moving up to drape loosely around his shoulders "_The problem is that you weren't going to talk to me about it_"

His face tenses a little as he looks at her with confusion.

"_I didn't like the way you totally shut-down on me_" she confesses, her hands resting on the back of his neck now "_It hurt me, the way you said 'Your Majesty' all cold and detached, like we were only business associates or something_"

"_I'm sorry_" he responds reflexively

Just because it is habit, an in-bred response to displeasure from a superior, doesn't mean it isn't also true. Caine is more sorry about having disappointed Jupiter right now than he's ever been about anything before. He can remember the pain that had flashed briefly behind her eyes before the anger had overshadowed it, and he regrets that his own ineptitude caused it.

"_I am very sorry_" he says again, a little more thoughtfully this time "_That wasn't my intention_"

"_I forgive you_" she says simply, her fingertips beginning to stroke soothingly up and down his neck "_What I'd like to know now, is what I can do so that you'll feel comfortable telling me how you feel in the future_?"

"_It is not my place to question your actions, Your Majesty_" Caine begins

This time, Jupiter is expecting his response, so it hurts less when she hears it. It also helps that Caine doesn't sound emotionless or far away this time, only genuinely confused, there is no coldness in his tone now.

Jupiter realizes that they should have talked about some of these things much earlier, had a "define the relationship" talk much sooner, it's her fault that they haven't. In her heart of hearts, she sees now that she was afraid of ruining their relationship by trying to define it. It was her own emotional baggage, gumming up the works. She shouldn't have assumed that Caine could read her mind, even though he often seems to. She shouldn't have assumed that he was aware just how crazy she is about him.

"_Let's talk about that_" she proposes casually, trying to ease him into the conversation gradually, her fingers continuing to dance lazily at the base of his skull, massaging softly "_Let's talk about 'your place'_"

Caine doesn't know how to respond. Even after all these weeks, her unusual ways still manage to surprise and confuse him. _Why won't she just give him an order that he can follow_?

"_I don't understand_" he finally manages

"_Why don't you tell me what dating is like where you come from_?" Jupiter suggests

Caine finds her physical nearness calming - the delightful sensation of her finger nails massaging his scalp, the warmth of her legs to either side of his waist, not touching but close enough that he can feel the heat radiating from her core. Caine feels less anxious and more centered than he has all night. As a result, he thinks less than he should, answers before he takes into account her delicate Earth-sensibilities and edits himself.

"_Lycantants are bred for the military_" he informs her "_The Legion doesn't encourage socialization, or any activity which might decrease efficient resource usage_"

Jupiter's hand freezes momentarily on his neck, ceasing the rhythm she'd developed as she processes the off-handed way in which he'd just called himself a 'resource' in the same manner a politician might reference fossil fuels. _Barbaric!_ she thinks again angrily, _and they think Earth is an underdeveloped planet_? She has to take a deep breath and focus on the topic at-hand. Tomorrow she can work on changing the entire universe, right now she only wants to change the way Caine sees their relationship, the way he sees himself within it.

Consciously, she begins moving her hands across his neck again, her fingers winding through the soft hair at the base of his skull. "_So, you've never really dated then_?" she asks, quirking her eyebrow "_I'm your first girlfriend_?"

Caine doesn't think she is asking about physical interactions, he is pretty sure she is asking about emotional entanglements, and his heart wants to answer '_first . . . only . . . everything'_, but he forces himself to think this time before he responds.

"_Yes_" he tells her, deciding brevity is safest

Jupiter aches for the loneliness he must have felt. She remembers what Stinger had said about most lycantants not surviving very long without a pack. She is extremely grateful that Caine is as strong as he is, because she can't imagine not knowing him.

"_Okay, then I'll tell you what dating is like here, instead_" she says casually, her mouth turning up in a half-smile as Caine pushes his head against her hand, unconsciously encouraging her ministrations "_'dating' has a pretty broad definition, it's meaning can be different for every couple - some couples are exclusive, some are playing the field." _

She pauses momentarily, gathering her thoughts, because this is actually a really complicated concept to explain, especially to someone from another world_. "The thing that's most important though, is that 'dating' is essentially an equal partnership between two people who are attracted to each other and want to spend time together romantically_"

"_I've read the Legion manuals on Earth customs_" Caine informs her, nodding his head.

"_Yeah, did they skip the chapter on equality_?" Jupiter asks, quirking her eyebrow in irritation at space bureaucrats. She wouldn't put it past whoever writes those manuals to leave equality out on purpose, why give the minions ideas. "_It's kind of a big thing here in the United States_"

"_The Entitled Codes of Conduct supersede any planet-specific legislation_" Caine explains, shrugging his shoulders as though this should be extremely obvious "_The concept of_ _Equality does not apply to you Jupiter, you have no equal_"

In spite of the fact that what he'd just said is really disturbing, it makes her strangely giddy that he used her given name just now, makes her feel like she's making progress somehow.

"_Caine, I am still the same person I was before the ascension_" she says firmly, ceasing the movement of her fingers against his scalp abruptly "_I still want the same things_"

Caine remembers her saying the very same thing back on Aurus, before Titus or Balem had tried to kill her, before her family had been kidnapped and the refinery had been destroyed. He had not doubted her sincerity then, and he does not doubt it now, but he is still afraid of what she is implying. He is perhaps more afraid now than he had been then, because now he truly understands how desperately he needs the peace and completeness she brings him.

"_I don't want a servant or an employee, I want a partner_" she says, her hands coming around to rest on either side of his face "_Is that something that you maybe want to do . . . be my partner_?"

Caine's heart is jack-rabbiting in his chest and his instinct is to tell her 'yes', that he will do or be anything that she desires. But he isn't certain that he's _capable_ of what she's asking, he's not certain yet exactly what it _is_ she's asking him for.

"_How would I do that_?" he asks, his throat dry "_What exactly would that involve_?"

"_Well, it would be mostly what we're already doing_" she says, her thumbs stroking his cheeks in small circular motions "_We would spend our free time together, and we would go out to dinner, and kiss and have sex and sleep in the same bed a lot of the time_"

Caine's eyes can't help but drift closed, both from the sensation she's creating and from the picture she's painting. He wants it more than anything.

"_Neither of us would see other people romantically_" she continues, her voice dropping to a whisper "_We would belong only to each other_"

There it is again, she's making him another promise, and his blood starts to sing inside his veins. She is offering to give him all he's ever wanted. Unconsciously, he steps farther forward, leaning into her personal space. His hands leave their perch atop the cold stone and drift to rest on her hips.

"_The main difference from what we're already doing_" she reveals, looking deeply into his eyes "_Is that the next time I do something that makes you feel hurt or confused, you would come talk to me about it instead of keeping it to yourself, because it _**_would_**_ be 'your place to question'_"

She makes it sound so simple, so easy, like she doesn't understand the parts of him that are broken. But then, maybe she understands afterall. Maybe since she's come along, more of him seems whole than ever before.

"_I need for you to share your thoughts and feelings with me_" Jupiter says "_Not always, just sometimes_"

"_I'm not sure I know how to do that_" he confesses, shaking his head.

"_You'll learn_" she promises, kissing his lips softly "_It's like using the gravity boots or flying a space ship, it's something you learn with practice_"

Caine wants so much to leap heedlessly into her words, to sink into the warmth of her body, but he hesitates. She is promising him everything that he never dared to hope for – she is offering to pair-bond with him. Even as his heart longs to accept, a disturbing thought crawls up the back of his neck and lodges itself in his brain. He had been on the verge of losing complete control at the club earlier, and after, at the church. He remembers with vivid clarity the urge to snap Spencer's neck, the bloodlust that coursed through his veins as he imagined the act, however briefly.

The knowledge that he might have injured Jupiter, or Spencer, or a hundred innocent strangers, chills his blood. He has defective genomgeneering, it is a scientifically proven fact. As much as Jupiter may allow him to pretend like that fact doesn't matter, tonight has shown him that it still does. He can not afford to relinquish the tight control he holds on his emotions, he can not afford that luxury, not when the potential consequence of doing so is this high.

Jupiter can feel him stiffen beneath her touch as he considers her words, but she doesn't understand the source of the shift "_What are you thinking_?" she probes softly, her thumbs still stroking small circles along his cheeks.

"_What you ask is more complicated than you realize_" he tells her, shaking his head as he pulls back a little "_I have to be careful not to lose control, so I don't hurt anyone_"

Jupiter hadn't realized this was something he still worried about, and it makes her heart ache for him. She doesn't know what to say, what words will convince him that his fear is unfounded, so instead she wraps her arms around his shoulders and pulls him into a bear hug.

Caine stiffens as she pulls him close. She doesn't understand, he needs to make her understand. From the very first moment he'd met her, the urge to protect Jupiter was so strong, so deeply imbedded within him that he couldn't ignore it. He needs her to understand that she may need protection from him now, that he needs to protect her from the darkest parts of himself.

"_I wanted to kill Spencer tonight_" he confesses, his voice quiet as he practically whispers in her ear where she holds him against her "_I wanted to break his neck for touching you_"

Caine expects her to recoil, half of him _wants_ her to, if only because it will mean she truly understands what he is saying. If Jupiter is surprised or disgusted by his words, she does not show it. Her pulse remains calm and steady, her arms stroke along his upper back as she embraces him. He does not scent a change in any of her body chemicals.

"_But you didn't_" she murmurs softly, still stroking "_I know that you wouldn't have_"

Frustration bubbles up inside of him even as her faith infuses his heart with warmth. "_You don't know that, you _**_can't_**_ know that. _**_I_**_ don't even know it_" he argues, pulling away abruptly

_Why isn't she afraid of the animal inside of him like he is_? Her nearness, the physical affection she is giving him, it is clouding his judgment, so he takes several steps backward before he resumes speaking.

"_I have defective genomgeneering, I am dangerous and unpredictable" _he insists_ "You don't know what will happen if I lose control of my emotions_"

Jupiter worries her bottom lip with her teeth as she processes his words, watching him shrink away from her. She knows that he believes what he's saying, knows that an entire universe of people also believe that it's true. She also knows that it's complete and utter crap. _But how do you convince a person that something they've known their entire existence is a lie_? Then, she remembers the very first conversation she and Caine ever had.

"_Bullshit_" she says finally, her voice calm "_Our genes are only part of what make us who we are. The rest WE control. We decide through our own actions, who we want to be._"

He opens his mouth to argue, but she pushes forward before her can speak.

"_No seriously, think about it_" she demands, sliding down from the fence and landing on her feet "_Balem and Titus both had/have perfect, completely non-defective, ideal genes, right_?"

He is looking at her like she's a complicated math problem, one he doesn't quite know how to solve, but it was a rhetorical question so Jupiter doesn't even pause for him to answer "_. . . and they both also happen to be narcissistic mass-murderers_" she concludes.

It makes sense, everything she is saying makes logical sense, and all his doubts and insecurities want to vanish at her words. Jupiter centers him, she tethers him to the ground, balances and completes him. _Maybe it could work_? _Maybe he could try to believe the way she does_?

"_I would take you and your quote 'defects' over the two of them, any day of the week_" she says walking over to where he's standing, placing her hands gently on his hips "_In fact, I would choose you over _**_anyone_**_ else_" she confesses

She is offering him something he's never had before, something terrifying in it's newness - acceptance. It feels like stepping off the edge of the known universe, except _that_ idea has never scared him. Caine isn't sure she is right, isn't certain he can give her what she is asking him for. But there is no one in the entire galaxy that he'd rather take that leap with or for, that he **does** know.

"_I_ _spent my whole life believing that Earth was the center of the universe_" Jupiter reminds him, echoing his words from the first time they'd met "_I was wrong about that_" she admits "_Maybe there's a thing or two that you are wrong about now_?"

"_It's possible_" he allows

"_Yeah_?" she prods, her eyes hopeful as she looks up at him.

She looks so certain, so steady right now, and Caine can't help but believe her. She is offering herself to him, ALL of her, promising him everything he'd never dared to dream and he feels dizzy with the possibility. All he has to do is trust in her the way that she had trusted in him the first time he carried her out the skyscraper window and into the transport's gravity beam.

"_Yeah_" he admits, reaching down to take her hands in his, weaving their fingers together "_Jupiter_" he says looking at her seriously "_I want to try_"

"_Good_" she smiles, standing up on her tip-toes to kiss his lips lightly

Jupiter's heart fills with joy at his words and it feels so light that it might float straight out of her chest. Fingers still intertwined, they walk back toward the waterfront. Resting her head against Caine's shoulder, she looks out across the lake once more.

The sun has finally crept fully above the water, it's body hovering just a few feet beyond the glassy surface. The soft orange warmth of the coming dawn has begun to overshadow the harsh black chill of the retreating night, allowing the sky to brighten as the two separate forces merge to become one.

.

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The End

* * *

**Author's Note**: _So, I was thinking about all the emotional upheaval and turmoil I put poor Caine and Jupiter through this story, and feeling a little guilty about it. And then I remembered way back in Chapter 2 when all Jupiter wanted was lazy Sunday morning sex and blueberry pancakes, and I feel like she's **really** earned those things by now_.

_Do you guys think I should write an epilogue? Or is the ending okay the way it is_?


End file.
